Photo courtesy of Scott Terry
The recent activism surrounding police abuse has inspired many different forms of art; from wall murals to protest hip hop anthems. One of the most prominent artists in the Midwest activist movement is Scott Terry. With his organization, The Black Humanity Now Coalition, he created a 200 ft. mural in front of the Racine County Courthouse that reads “Black Humanity Now.” In addition to leading the organization, Terry teaches and also runs the Mahogany Gallery, an art gallery and cultural center that recently celebrated their one year anniversary. Off the Cuff sat down with Terry to discuss why art is particularly important at this time and what an art gallery can do for a community.
You are an artist, a teacher, an activist, and a father. Tell me how they all work together.
They definitely coincide with one another. As a father, entrepreneur and educator, it’s all about relationship building. You talk about understanding and learning from others along with your interaction with others. It’s also about having patience, developing patience, and understanding what your strengths are as a person and where you need improvement. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, so it’s really impactful to make those connections with people.
What inspired you to become an artist?
I get it from my mother, she’s a very creative person. My brothers and I, I believe we all get our creativity from our mother.
Did the arts lead you to the activist community?
I would say that there are a lot of similarities between the two, they complement each other. An artist has always been a voice of the people and voice of movements. I think they go hand in hand, especially with street art. If you look back into the Harlem Renaissance, for example, that was an enlightenment period in America. I feel that a lot of influential people from that period and art that came from that era helped to communicate the conditions of the time while still resonating today.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
In what way does your activism influence your art?
Part of activism is connecting with people and one of the things you learn is the backstory about people. Everybody has a story to tell and everybody’s story is unique. There are common threads between these stories and I think that’s what unites us, talking about regular people who are also struggling in the same fight as activists.
What do you think Mahogany Gallery brings to the community?
I’m excited about what we bring to the community; we bring a large breadth of Black American visual art. I think there’s been a humongous void in the community in terms of black artists having a vehicle to showcase and sell their work. I can speak to that because I’m an artist as well and relate to the story of not having a space that would embrace my work. I want to provide an opportunity not only for myself, but for other artists. I’m also really excited about our bookstore, it’s a great place to learn and build, especially in the course of the past year. People have become aware of the social justice issues in America and this is a space for people to learn about the diaspora, black authors, and issue that relate to our community.
What do you want to accomplish with your artwork?
I would love to showcase more artists and the diversity of black art. There’s a common stereotype that black people are a monolith, but there’s much diversity within the culture. I want to showcase that with the art as well as the literature. I also want to be a resource for young artists and kids who are aspiring to be a part of creative economy.
What are your plans for the coming year?
The plan for the coming year is to continue our growth and fine tune our operation. We’re still only a month old in this new space even though we celebrated a year collectively. For the rest of the year, we’ll be getting in touch with artists and being a resource for them. We’ll also continue being a point of light in the community for people to learn, grow, and build. We’re just going continue to just do that for the short term.
